Oni
by Rabidfarfgirl
Summary: An AU set in the rural mountains of Japan where a supposed Oni haunts the nights. What is a new teacher to do?
1. Preface

**Oni**

_A Naruto AU loosely based on Japanese history._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of them but the versions that live in my head. Kishimoto-sensei is a genius in my mind._

- Preface -

Cold wind blew strongly against the open shutters of the old windows, causing one to slam hard on its warped frame. The night was dark, clouds covering the moon and stars. A storm was rolling in off the ocean far from the mountains.

Silently, a man stood just within the window, his black garbs blending him in perfectly. Only at close inspection could one see he existed, standing thin against the wall with blood splattered here and there, covering his claw like hands. He remained there watching the body of a young woman grow cold with his mismatching eyes, the only part of him not covered in cloth. She stood out against the dark in the middle of the near empty room, colorful yet pale. Blood was still slowly dripping down her delecate face to gather on the collar of her azure kimono, staining it a dull red. Bright eyes stared back at him, locked in fear, the blood starting to thicken and dry over her cheek. The man slowly made his way over carefully and knelt down to pick up the limp form from the floor.

"Goodnight, Sensei." The soft voice cut through the suddenly still air, feeling very out of place.

There was no answer but the coming of the storm yet again slamming the shutter. The old schoolhouse was soon vacant of both visitor and dead. Nothing left behind to indicate what had occurred but for a now cold, empty room that only ghosts seemed to thrive in.


	2. The Road

**Oni**

_A Naruto AU loosely based on Japanese history._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of them but the versions that live in my head. Kishimoto-sensei is a genius in my mind._

- Chapter 1: The Road -

The smell of mountain fresh air was a nice change from the dusty streets of the city. Though the air was still dry, the more frequent rains kept the dust from floating in the wind for long. The trees were just starting to take on their fall colors as the late flowers were at the height of their bloom. It was very refreshing.

A lone traveler looked about at the beauty, enjoying the sunshine that helped make his trek easier. He was a young man, just reaching his prime, lean and strong with a smiling, friendly face. He had his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, and donned a simple kimono of bright colors, showing just how young he was. The only marking to show he wasn't completely innocent was the dark scar that ran across his nose.

The young man huffed a little and stopped to set down his pack and sit on a rock to rest. Glancing up, he took in the view of the slow climb into the mountains the road took. If he had calculated it right, he should reach the small village out there by the end of the day. But he hadn't expected the road to twist so steeply. A short rest should give him the energy to tackle it quickly.

Bending over his pack he shuffled some things around and pulled out a small leaf wrapping of onigiri. Chewing slowly, he closed his eyes and relaxed, soaking up the sunshine.

"Having a nice walk, stranger?"

The young man snapped his eyes open to find three men standing not far from him. He wasn't sure how to take them. They could just be other travelers. But from the looks of the rusting armor and weapons, bandits seemed more the likely answer. "Yes, actually I am." He gave them a smile. It was always good to be polite to all just incase.

"We're sorry to ruin it for ya then." A fourth man called from directly behind him. The others snickered as they saw their pray freeze. It would be an easy catch today.

The young traveler shut his eyes and quickly rolled to get away trying to think of the few moves he knew in a fight. There was a loud yell as someone fell near him. Another scream came before he felt the courage to open his eyes and see someone had placed themselves in-between himself and the last two living bandits.

The bandits sized up the man standing calmly in front of them in a stance ready for anything; his sword shining with the fresh blood it had already taken. They ran.

It was a while before the swordsmen relaxed, wiping his blade and resheathing it as he turned. "Umino-sensei?"

The young traveler blinked at him and slowly rose. "Yes?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Sarutobi Asuma. I was sent out to be your escort for the rest of the way. A group of thieves have been reported hiding in these mountains. I am sorry for my lateness." The man gave him a short bow.

"Eh? No, it's ok! You saved my life, I thank you." He gave a lower bow of thanks. "I am Umino Iruka. You are related to the daimyo of the village of Leaf?"

"I am. He is my uncle." Asuma looked up at the sky. "We should be going. If we hurry we will make it by sunset. You will be staying at my house for the night, and the daimyo is expecting to speak with you for a short while."

Iruka nodded in understanding and quickly repacked his pack and settled it on his shoulders. "Lead on." He smiled.

They walked on in silence for a long while, Iruka constantly studying his escort and trying to figure him out. The man was larger then he, broad shoulders and a bearded set jaw. He wore a simple kamishimo of dark blues, his katana thrust through the belt on his left side. His eyes finally came to the brown, hard eyes and short-cropped hair. "You have such short hair, yet you are of a well known samurai family. Are you not one as well?" He wondered idly if their costumes were different from other villages.

"I lost that honor. Now I serve the village and my family as an excellent swordsman. And no, we don't have the costume of shaving the tops of our heads like others." Asuma could feel the eyes quickly looking away from his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry I pried." Iruka quickly apologized.

Asuma smirked already liking the young man. "That is alright. I am here to explain and teach you the things you need to know. Ask what questions you want. I will just refuse those I do not wish to answer. How is that?"

Iruka looked at him confused. "Are you sure?" He wasn't use to being aloud to have his curiosity actually satisfied.

Asuma gave a short bark of laughter. "You are amusing. I think the children will get along with you perfectly."

Iruka relaxed and watched the road. "I'm glad. I was a little worried how they would take having a new teacher come in from a different prefecture."

"I think it would be best for them to have someone who grew up elsewhere to teach them. It will open their minds."

"How many are there?"

"Nine currently. Two of them are younger then the rest. Sarutobi Konohamaru and Hyuuga Hanabi."

"Are they all from samurai families?" Iruka wasn't sure how he felt about teaching a class full of children use to very strict family ethics. He was more use to a mixed crowd, like his last job had consisted of back in Hirado, even though he was just an assistant.

"No. Haruno Sakura is the daughter of the village doctor. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji are all children from the higher families in the trade business." Asuma explained.

"Sounds like there's a good mix. That'll make things a little more interesting." Iruka was glad.

"I'll give you more details in the morning. Oh, Sensei. You need to know one thing before we get there. One of the children is from the Uchiha family. We had a tragedy recently and he is the last survivor." Asuma's voice became grave.

Iruka looked over at him in shock. "The last survivor? No living relatives?" He was surprised the news had not reached the city. Usually when a tragedy like that struck the news would find it's way around quickly.

"We do not think there are any others. He may be hard to deal with in the class. It is a sore subject."

"I understand. I will be careful." Iruka gave a small nod.

Silence again fell on the pair as they traveled the rest of the way to the small hidden village of Leaf.

It was well past nightfall when the two finally arrived at the small village. Most of the fires had been put out but for those just outside the gates to keep wild animals back. The guard gave them a short nod of acknowledgement from his post just inside the fence surrounding the small village.

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Inside it was very dark with no moonlight to help. Iruka tried to make out the slight outlines of the buildings nearby. Thankfully Asuma knew the place by heart, leading him to the daimyo's house at the highest point of the village. Inside there were lights from candles burning that helped Iruka to see the place. It didn't look too much larger then some of the buildings in the city. Wasn't that a little small for a daimyo? He glanced over at Asuma who was apparently waiting for something.

Iruka turned back when he heard footsteps. A short old man was making his way over to them, standing as tall and confident as Iruka would expect from any samurai no matter how old.

The old man stopped in front of them before giving a short bow. "It is good to see you were able to make it, Umino Iruka-sensei. Please come in." The daimyo turned and headed back in, confident they would fallow. Iruka hesitated a moment before making his way in and sitting down at the table provided, Asuma not far behind him.

He could feel the nervousness eating away at his stomach and was glad he hadn't had dinner before his introduction to the old daimyo. He sat silently waiting for the man to speak.

"I take it my directions were helpful?" The old man sitting across from him finally spoke. That was not the question Iruka had wanted him to ask first.

The directions he had received had been, for lack of words, horribly confusing at first. He had only made sense of them when he turned the map upside-down and was already part way into the trip. "They were, very useful once on the road sir." He replied trying to be as polite but also truthful as he could.

"Hm." The old man stroked his beard. "Good. I had my grandson draw that for you. Both for his practice and a chance for you to see what he can do." He smiled briefly.

"Konohamaru-kun?"

"Yes. I see Asuma has filled you in on the children's names."

"Most of them sir. He was going to give me a more complete list tomorrow."

The old daimyo nodded. "Good. I will give you that morning to settle in and learn about our village. It is small, but it has a lot of history. We are currently setting up the schoolhouse to be livable for you. It should be done in a few more days. Till then you may stay at Asuma-san's place and will have to teach the classes outdoors or at the old shrine."

"I thank you for all that you are doing for me, Sarutobi-sama. Especially with my age. Many would not take me seriously as a teacher." Iruka bowed to him truly grateful for such a once in a lifetime chance.

"Umino-sensei, you may call me Hokage. It is a youthful nickname the children have given me. I prefer it." The old man smiled again.

Iruka smiled back. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He liked that.

The Hokage shifted a little. "I guess that will be all for this night. If you have trouble or need anything, Asuma-san will see to it, or you may stop by here." He gave another brief smile. "Welcome to your knew home, Sensei."

Iruka gave another bow before standing. "I thank you again, Hokage-sama. I'm sure I'll enjoy it here."

Asuma also gave a short bow before leading Iruka to his place. Iruka fallowed silently taking everything in and thinking. It was going to take some time getting use to, but he would manage. He just hoped there really wasn't any reason for the fence and guard around the village other than for wild animals. Maybe it was those thieves. He quickly shook his head to get rid of the image of the two lying dead on the ground. He had a lot to get ready for and his mind needed to stay on task. No point in worrying about things he couldn't help when he had a long day ahead of him.

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Notes:

The story is only loosly based on history because I don't have to time to make sure I get every nit-picky detail right. that's why it's fiction. But if you see something seriously wrong, then inform me and I'll work the change in.

Daimyo - Basically a landowner of wealth.

Onigiri - In our turms, a Rice ball. They're very good by the way.

Kamishimo - The typical samurai cloths near the Edo period. It's a Katingu and Hakama worn over top a simple kimono.


	3. The Children

**Oni**

_A Naruto AU loosely based on Japanese history._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of them but the versions that live in my head. Kishimoto-sensei is a genius in my mind._

- Chapter 2: The Children -

Startled from his sleep, Iruka sat up and looked around half expecting someone to be in the room with him. He was pretty sure he had heard someone land on the flooring by the open window. Holding his breath for a moment, he listened. Nothing. He sighed.

The sky was gradually lightening as morning came. There was no point in going back to sleep. He had a long day of school ahead of him, though he wasn't worried. The whole time was going to be spent on getting to know the children and taking them around the village so they could teach him. It would give them a chance to loosen up and learn that he could be trusted.

Slowly standing, he walked over to the window and looked outside to check on the weather. It looked like it was going to be a nice sunny day if the weather up here didn't change drastically. He paused to look down at his hand when he felt it come in contact with something wet. Did it rain last night? At closer inspection he found it was blood. Just a little, but there was fresh blood on his windowsill.

Curious as always he searched around and on himself for anymore, but found none. It could have been some animal, possibly a bird. Maybe it was the same thing he had heard. He picked off a nearby leaf from one of the small trees growing just outside the window and used it to wipe the blood from the sill. Using his thumb, he rubbed at the spot some. It had already left a bit of a stain in the wood. There was no getting that up now.

He took his time at getting dressed and tying his hair back. There was no rush with how much time he had. Silently he walked down the hall not wanting to wake his host.

"You are up awfully early. Do you always wake at this time?"

Iruka jumped and found Asuma sitting in the main room packing away what looked like bandages. "Good morning, Asuma-san. No, not usually. I guess it's the excitement of the day." He greeted and came over to sit nearby.

"Hn." Asuma finished his task and picked up an old, bloody rag.

The young teacher looked at him a little worried. "Did you hurt yourself during the fight yesterday?" He hoped it wasn't his fault.

Asuma shook his head. "No, I was cleaning my sword and cut myself." He got up and put away the kit. "I am assuming since we are both up that we might as well start the day early." He gave Iruka a smile. "What do you normally have in the morning?"

"Eh? I'm not picky. What ever you're having is fine with me." The young teacher smiled back.

Asuma nodded. "Tea and rice it is then." He left to go make their breakfast.

Iruka looked around the place trying to get a better idea of how these people lived. It was hard to when all his host had in the room was a low table, some cushions to sit on, a single painting that looked like a child had created, the medical kit and some books on a small table against a plain wood outer-wall that held a single window, while the inner walls were your typical traditional rice paper. The man owned very little in Iruka's mind, considering most of the other rooms consisted of just as little if anything at all. His thoughts were cut off when his host came back in the room carrying two wooden bowls of steaming rice complete with chopsticks.

"That was a little fast, were you already cooking?"

"I could not get much sleep." Asuma set one of the bowls in front of Iruka and set the other where he had been sitting. "The tea is almost ready." He left again.

Iruka stared at the bowls of hot rice. For not expecting him up so early, he sure cooked a lot of rice. Did he always cook that much? He continued to try and use every clue to figure out his host when he remembered something. He had said he had cut himself while cleaning his sword. No samurai of any skill wound have a problem of that occurring. And even if he did, where was the cut? He had not seen the wrappings on either of his hands.

Again his train of thought was cut short as Asuma came back in with a tray of tea. "I am sorry that took a moment. The water was still heating." He set down the tray looking, in Iruka's mind, distracted somehow. He sat down and pored some into a small cup before handing it to Iruka. "I hope you do not mind forgoing the whole tea ceremony. I for one do not like my tea getting too cold during such traditions."

Iruka smiled and nodded. "It is fine. I'm not use to such customs anyway." He sipped at the tea, surprised to find it not extremely hot.

"That is right. You were in Hirado before?"

Iruka nodded while looking at his rice hungrily, but trying to keep his manors. "Yes. For the better of five years. My family moved us there while trading with the Portuguese was still aloud."

"Eat, Sensei. My questions can wait till after our meal." Asuma dug into his own bowl but only ate a little of it before setting it down again. "Is there anything else you need?"

The teacher smiled and shook his head. "It is very good. Thank you."

Asuma nodded. "Good. Then if you do not mind, I will be right back." Before waiting for an answer, he stood and took his still nearly full bowl back to the kitchen. Iruka wasn't sure if he'd ever figure the man out.

Time passed and Iruka sat slowly drinking his rapidly cooling tea starting to wonder where his host had gone. He looked up at the sound of feet to see Asuma coming back in with a small scroll and a lit pipe.

"I am sorry that took a while, I needed to find a list I had created for you of the children." The broad man sat down in his seat again, smoking lightly. "Are there any questions you still have?"

"You said there were nine students correct?" Iruka asked as he set his cup down, now with only tea leaves left at the bottom.

Asuma nodded while slowly blowing out some smoke.

"You have only given the names of six of them. Who are the other three?"

"Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke."

"And Sasuke's the soul survivor?"

Another nod.

"Is there anything else that I need to know about them? Or any one in particular? Things they don't like or places they can't go?"

"I do not know where they are not allowed to go. That is up to their parents. As for other things, they each have their quirks. I cannot see them scared of much. They are hard headed brats."

Iruka blinked a little stunned that Asuma would call them as such. "I'm sure they're not that bad."

Asuma smirked in amusement. "Why do you think we had to hire out for a teacher? You will see." He handed over the scroll, listed on it were names and descriptions. "Good luck, Sensei."

----------------

Iruka blinked at the kids standing in front of him. This was definitely something he wasn't expecting. They were an odd group for sure, but he hardly could agree with Asuma's description of them being brats.

A young girl in a light yellow kimono, Hinata if he remembered correctly, shifted a little nervously in the silence. Next to her stood her cousin Neji and little sister Hanabi, both in simple tan kimono's looking ready to go train rather then learn to read or write. Young Sakura and Ino stood out the most with their bright pinks and purples. Shikamaru looked like he was about to fall over asleep, already leaning on the broad Chouji's shoulders. Was that kid full Japanese? And then there was Sasuke, standing away from the others, his dark eyes glaring at nothing. Wait. One was missing.

"Where's Konohamaru-kun?" Iruka counted them again and looked around worried.

"Oh don't worry about him sensei. He's off playing ninja somewhere." Ino provided in an offhand manor.

"Ninja?" Iruka wasn't sure if he should be worried and trying to fine the young grandson of his employer. This would not look good if he already lost a kid on the first day, before ever even meeting him.

"He'll show up. Just late." Sakura added reassuringly.

Iruka looked down at his mostly 10 year old charges. "Does he do this often?"

"Only on, im-important days." Hinata said quietly while moving closer to her silent cousin as if for protection.

Iruka sighed. "Well, I guess we better go find him then."

"That could take hours." Shikamaru finally moved to stand on his own feet. "Can't we just watch the clouds till he shows up?"

"What about the lesson, Sensei?" Chouji asked politely.

Iruka smiled down at the pair. "Actually, what I had planed for today was to allow all of you to create the lesson and teach me things."

Neji looked a little confused. "Teach you what?"

"Well, about yourselves, the village, your hobbies. Just little things." At their still confused looks he moved on to explain. "Like I'm sure Sasuke here could show me his samurai skills." He glanced over at the quiet kid hoping to get him to talk. All he got out of him was an even darker look. "Or something, right Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't say a word as he turned and left.

_Well that didn't go so well._ Iruka grimaced as he had just lost another kid on his first day.

Sakura came over and smiled up at their new teacher. "Can I show you my favorite tree, Sensei?"

"And I want to show you mine as well!" Ino quickly came over with an even bigger smile.

Iruka could easily see the rivalry that existed between the two girls as they each continued to look the cutest. "Of course. But we'll have to do it one at a time I'm afraid."

"I want to show him to dango man's house!" Chouji called after as the group fallowed Sakura to her tree.

Shikamaru looked up at the clear sky. Why couldn't they just wait for his clouds to come back? Under the sakura was the best place to view them. He sighed and slowly tagged along not looking forward to running around the village.

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The village was very small in Iruka's standards. But he liked it that way. Located on the side of one of the many mountains in the area, it was a secluded place away from the hassles and changing world that he had come from. Set in more traditional ways, it was peaceful. There was a single road that ran through the middle of the village, the same one that led past the gates and on down the mountainside through fields and then disappearing into the woods. The other end stopped just short of the Hokage's house.

The land constantly sloped down or up which the kids had no problem with. Their teacher on the other hand new he was going to have to get use to it fast, especially since the only flat areas were the fields, inside houses, and the sakura garden located in the center of the village. He was surprised to see there were houses outside of the gates. Sakura had explained that the houses were built after the fence and gate were created, that it had only been fields out there, or so her father says.

It was nice to see Chouji's dango man lived just inside the gates and not far from the schoolhouse, which they checked on as well. The place was perfectly located between the fence and woods beyond and the sakura garden out front. It was easy to locate and not far from everything, Asuma's house being probably the farthest point from it.

They took most of the day continuing to show him around, at the same time trying to find where Konohamaru-kun was hiding out or what had happened to Sasuke-kun.

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"You don't think he would go into the woods, do you?" Ino looked off in the woods from across the field trying to see as far into them as she could.

Sakura shook her head. "The adults always tell us never to go in there. Even if he did, we can't."

Iruka took interest in this. "Why is that?"

"Because the Oni lives in there."

"Oni?" Iruka looked down at Chouji. "What kind of Oni?"

Chouji now wasn't sure if it was a good idea to talk about it. All the other adults always told him to leave it be, and none existed. This was the first time someone older had asked him to explain. "Scary. It's taller then you and all black with blood dripping all over. It wanders around just outside the windows, sniffing and looking in."

"All bloody? Bet it eats children too." Ino laughed somewhat disbelieving in it.

"I know what I saw!" Chouji argued back.

"Really? Sure it wasn't just your brain wanting another onigiri? If anyone here's an Oni, it's you." Ino made a face at the young boy.

Iruka didn't like where the argument was going. "Actually most stories have some basis in truth." He crouched down at their level and smiled at Chouji. "I think your Oni checked in on me this morning."

Chouji looked horrified.

"Sensei, you don't really think an Oni exists around here, do you?" Hinata asked shyly.

"There could. I don't think it will harm us, but being out in the woods, there're probably all sorts of youkai around that we haven't seen." Iruka smiled. "Don't worry. Very few are ever dangerous, and those only fight to protect what is theirs. If we are good and leave them alone, they will leave us alone."

"Sensei, I did hear howling one night." Shikamaru piped up to defend his friend's accusations. "Could that be this Oni?"

"Hn." Neji looked skeptical about the idea of some blood-covered ghost wondering around.

"Ah! I know! How about we all go over to Asuma-san's house and I'll make you some tea." He smiled at them hoping a change on the subject would be good. "Then you can all tell me what things you like to eat and we can plan a picnic for tomorrow.

Most of the girls loved the idea. The boys didn't look too sure.

"It would give you a chance to show me some more of your skills." He added on for the boys who looked at least a little happier now about the idea.

"Sensei, do you know anything about swordsmanship?" Chouji asked.

"I know enough to be able to see a correct move verses a wrong one. But I only really know a few of the basics." Iruka said with a little bit of embarrassment. "My mother didn't like me playing with sharp objects."

Ino giggled at this.

Chouji seemed to be pleased. "I don't know anything either. I don't like fighting."

"You don't have to. There are many different activities-" Iruka was cut off when the kids in front of him stopped. He fallowed their gaze to see a young boy crouching under a tree, gazing back at them. From the looks of his blonde hair and blue eyes, he must have been of some foreign descent. Wasn't that a little rare this far into the country? He smiled at the boy. "Hello. Do you need some help?"

Neji gave the strange boy an accusing look.

Sakura tugged on Iruka's sleeve edge to get him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear. "That's one of the farmer's kids. Daddy said we're not suppose to talk with him." She let go.

Iruka wasn't sure why they weren't suppose to talk with him. He was just a kid, probably about their age.

"Maybe he's the Oni." Ino whispered.

Oni indeed, Iruka thought as he watched the kid run off into the woods having probably heard what she said about him.

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Notes:

All the houses are single storied, traditional homes. The higher-end ones have more wood paneling and Rice paper walls. The less grand are more open and less off the ground.

Dango: Is a Japanese sweet made from rice powder.

Sakura: This is what they call Cherry Trees. So when I say a sakura garden, it's a garden of cherry trees. Very beautiful when in full bloom and after when the trees begin to loose their petals.

Rice paper walls: Traditional walls that were made out of a rice paper material. They let light in but you can't see through them other then silhouettes. Some will have designs on them.

Hirado: This is a port town that was the main trading hub with the Portuguese, Dutch, and English when the country was open. When the country closed to the world, only a select few were still aloud to trade. The city is located on an island to the south west of mainland Japan.

**Smiley05** – Thank you for the review. I always enjoy knowing whether people like the story or not. I hope to continue writing this quickly while keeping it interesting.

And thanks to Wolf for always betaing stories for me.


	4. The Missing

**Oni**

_A Naruto AU loosely based on Japanese history._

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of them but the versions that live in my head. Kishimoto-sensei is a genius in my mind._

- Chapter 3: The Missing -

The days drew by slowly. Slower then he was ever use to, actually. But it gave Iruka a chance to really learn about the children. Though, some things didn't take long to learn.

"Sasuke, please let the girls go?" He tried for the sixth time to coax the boy to back off from where Ino and Sakura were huddled, sniffling by the sakura garden in the village square. He knew it would be only a matter of time before this would happen. Uchiha Sasuke had finally snapped and lost the calm, cool composure to the yelling annoyed boy he should have been acting like all this time. Well, maybe the yelling bit could be set aside along with terrorizing the girls.

The boy finally backed off but continued to glare at them.

"Now, is someone going to tell me what happened here?" Iruka quickly took control of the situation, steering Sasuke over to sit on a stone under the sakura before helping the two girls up and moving them as well.

"Chouji said he saw the Oni again. And when we were talking about who it could be, he attacked us!" Sakura explained between more sniffling. Ino nodded along and stuck close to Sakura as they were both still shaken.

_Looks like their rivalry only exits part of the time._ Iruka glanced over at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun? Is this what happened?"

Sasuke just glared before snorting and turned away with his arms folded.

Great. He finally starts coming to class, but he still won't talk.

"They mentioned his brother's name. That is why he snapped." Neji provided wanting to get this over with and start the lesson.

"His brother?" Iruka wanted to ask more, but with Sasuke sitting right there, it probably wasn't a good idea to go on about the dead.

"He's the oni. That's what Ino said." Konohamaru called from his current spot high in the trees.

Iruka tried to keep his temper in check. "Konohamaru-kun, please get down. You don't want a repeat of yesterday when you got stuck in that karamatsu tree, do you?" Was this kid really only 5 years old?

The young boy sniffed and made his way down. "I didn't get stuck." He denied.

Shikamaru smirked at that. "Then what do you call Neji having to go up and get you?"

Konohamaru huffed and folded his arms in defense once he was on the ground again. "Not stuck. I didn't want to come down."

Iruka rubbed his forehead as he waited for the current argument to finish. In some ways, he couldn't wait for the schoolhouse to be completed so they could start their kanji lessons. That gave him an idea.

"And I said it before, sushi tastes so much better from the ocean towns then from here." Ino continued, the argument having moved to other topics fairly quickly.

"How would you know?" Sakura accused. "You haven't even been there."

Ino glared back. "My father brought some back."

Iruka gave a cough to get their attention and glanced over to make sure Sasuke was still sitting there.

"Yeah right. It would not last that long. Father says the fish have to be fresh." Sakura refused to let Ino have the last word.

"Would you two please pay attention?" Iruka's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He didn't want to have to yell to get them to listen.

They quickly fell silent and looked up at him mumbling a quick apology.

Iruka smiled again. "We need to start today's lesson. The school house will be finished soon so I thought it would be good to get some wood and practice our letters. Then we could hang them on the walls." There was a joint groan from the kids, including Sasuke, which surprised the teacher some. "It would give you a way to see how you're improving."

"Sensei, what if we get worse?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, hopefully it'll motivate you into fixing that." Iruka gave him a look hoping the boy wasn't really taking about a true event. "It's only hiragana. We'll be working on kanji after the school is finished."

Chouji looked up at that. "How long will that be, Iruka-sensei?"

"Well, the last time I checked, it looked like it would be done in about two days or less from now." Iruka grinned. It would be nice to have a central area to work in without having to bother Asuma for space when it was raining. The shrine ended up being a little far to walk in the rain for. Something was still nagging Iruka about the whole fact of the schoolhouse not being ready. Did they always do this when a new teacher came in? He hoped they weren't going through all the trouble just on his account.

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"Good night, sensei!" Sakura called out before disappearing into her home.

Iruka smiled in reply and continued on towards the next house, the last four trailing quietly behind him and Konohamaru slept on in his arms. Walking the kids home at night was a tradition he always upheld, even as an assistant. It was just polite and made sure the kids were safe, though it was usually not this late.

They stopped again at a dark home. It looked cold and lonely. The Uchiha home. Sasuke bowed and headed on inside without a word. Iruka had offered for Sasuke to stay with him if he liked, but the boy had refused just like he had everyone else apparently.

Iruka sighed and walked on towards the Hyuuga homes. It was interesting how the family had decided to live right next to each other. But then, some families were tied very close to one another like that. When they got closer to their destination, Iruka got an odd feeling in his stomach. It was uncharacteristically quiet, even for the Hyuugas. "Hello?" Iruka called out. Hinata slowly inched closer to him.

Neji didn't seem too happy either, making sure Hanabi staid behind him. Something wasn't right, and somehow the young boy could sense it. Iruka noticed how he tensed up as if ready for something to jump out at them. It was that Samurai instinct that ran in his blood. At a glance around they found no one was home.

"Maybe I should take you to the Hokage's for the night. Just until your parents come back." Iruka suggested. Neji seemed to agree, nodding lightly.

Iruka quietly lead the way still not liking the situation. To up and leave like that without a word. Something had to be up, but what? It didn't look like they had gone anywhere. The children weren't informed about anything. And no one had told him. They hadn't even crossed paths during the day, which was odd. If they were going somewhere, their parents would have had to use the same road that they were on for most of the day.

A small flash caught Iruka's eye and he paused a moment to get a better look.

"Sensei?" Neji looked up at him in question.

"It's nothing. Just thought I saw someone." He quickly reassured the kids and walked on. It was the same as the first time he had visited the old daimyo's home. Dark, with the candle lights making it glow in an almost eiry way. "Hokage-sama?" Iruka called out.

There was shuffling of feet before the Hokage opened his door. He looked tired and worn, but still put on a smile. "Iruka-sensei. I hope he didn't fall asleep on you during classes."

"No, Hokage-sama. It wasn't until we were on our way home." Iruka passed Konohamaru over. "Oh, have you heard anything about the Hyuuga family going somewhere? We stopped by there but no one was home."

The Hokage looked over at the kids with sad eyes. "No. They can stay with me sensei. I had already gotten word of their disappearance. A search party is out looking now."

The kids silently nodded and came in, not asking any questions.

"Go home for the night, sensei. I will send word to you as soon as the searchers return." The Hokage gave him a short bow.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Iruka bowed back and said his goodnights to the kids silently, hoping for their sake the parents were found.

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It was cold. The type of cold that told you ice was on its way. The last harvesting days were here. Iruka had given the kids the day off due to the current circumstances. The Hyuuga family was still missing. Searchers were out in the woods, but nothing had been found. No clues at all. He quickly learned what a great tragedy it was for a samurai family to go missing. Pausing in his reading, he looked out the cracks in the window shutters. Dark and dreary, just like everyone's moods.

The Hyuuga children had an interesting way of dealing with the situation. They had stood by quietly and took in all the details. Only Hinata had looked somewhat sad. What got to Iruka was how everyone was mourning the missing as if they were dead.

A blast of the cold, late October air blew past him, signaling Asuma's return. The man had joined the search parties earlier that morning. Iruka drew the blankets closer as he shivered, huddled close to his reading candle.

"Umino-sensei, the cooking fire is not only for cooking." Asuma came in wearing his usual. "I know you do not want to hear this, but it is only going to get colder." His pipe was already out and smoke trailing from his lips. That was one of the few things he had learned about his host. He liked to smoke, a lot, but was generous enough to keep to the other side of the room when he did.

"I know. But winter is long here. You'll need all the wood you have stored up. I'll be fine for a while." Iruka put his book down and focused on Asuma. "How did the search go? Any sign as to where they went? I know Hinata's worried about them."

Asuma studied the teacher silently with a frown. "Sensei. I do not know if you have heard. But they are not coming back. Disappearing like this only means that they are dead."

"Why? There was no evidence of a struggle." Iruka asked, stunned. "Just because they go missing for a night, they shouldn't be declared dead." Yet again people were acting like they were dead, and Asuma of all people. What was going on?

Asuma quietly watched him before sighing and sitting down.

The silence stretched on to the point Iruka felt he should just forget it and go back to his reading.

"Umino-sensei." Asuma spoke up finally.

"Please, you can call me Iruka. You are my host. I'm indebt to you." Iruka smiled back glad the man had finally spoken.

"Iruka-sensei then, I should tell you about what occurred in the schoolhouse a month back. We use to have a teacher for the students, curious like yourself. But she went missing."

"Missing? She hasn't been found yet?" Iruka wasn't sure how he felt about replacing someone else's position just because they were missing for a while.

Asuma looked even graver as he took in a lungful of smoke from his pipe. "She was found tonight. But all that was left were her bones wrapped in a dirty kimono."

"Bones?" Iruka looked confused. "But she's only been gone for a short wile, right?"

Asuma nodded.

"Even if she was dead all that time, it would take longer for only her bones to be left. Are you sure it was her?"

Asuma studied him for a long time before nodding again and set his pipe down. "It was her kimono to begin with. There were bloodstains soaked into the collar. The bones were definitely hers as well. The left pinky missing from a cart accident when she was little. And that smile of hers. She would smile all the time. Those teeth are easy to recognize."

Iruka was a little disturbed by the images that flashed to his mind with the descriptions. "Could it have been fire?"

"The bones were as white as snow." Asuma smiled lightly, looking as if he was remembering something. "Youkai live in these woods, Sensei. That is why no one has bothered us or tried to move in such a fertile area. This place is haunted." He looked back at his guest. Iruka was startled to actually see a slight bit of fear in the larger man's eyes. "The Hyuuga are not coming back."

"Youkai? You actually believe those stories?"

"This is not the city. Out here the Youkai are real. And as much as I wish I could say no, our youkai neighbors consist of Oni."

Iruka sighed. He wasn't sure how to take the news really. "Well, there's obviously something going on. But I highly doubt it's due to Oni."

Asuma nodded quietly and took up his pipe again to smoke for a while. "The schoolhouse has been completed. Only a few more tables needed to be picked up tomorrow morning. If you need anything, my house is still open for you to use."

Apparently the previous conversation was over. Iruka bowed slightly before getting up and collecting his things. "I thank you again for your hospitality." He only waited for a nod to acknowledge that he had been heard before he wondered back to the room he had been using. Only the bedroll needed to be placed away and a few books packed up. It wouldn't take very long. He had planed that morning on sleeping the night in the new schoolhouse to make sure everything felt right and he could take tomorrow to get it ready for the kids. Sighing he made his way over to the window to open one of the shutters and look out at the dead world it opened up to. All the trees had turned and lost their leaves in a matter of a few short days. No wonder this place was called Konoha, the Village of Leaves. They were everywhere, playing in the wind. It was a perfect place for youkai to live.

Iruka looked down at the still visible blood stain in the wood. Could it be possible for them actually to exist? And Oni of all things. But if they didn't, what left blood at night, bleached bones, and terrorized even grown samurai? He wasn't sure if he really wanted the answers.

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Author's note: Sorry this took a little while to get out, had a lot of RL issues due to school and family. Hopfully now that it's winter break I'll be able to get more chapters done.

Karamatsu: Is the Japanese Larch tree. A big old tree. There's good pictures on Google.

Note of apology: I apologize to all anonymous reviewers out there. I did not realize I had that option turned off. But **The Gandhara** was kind enough to inform me of this. It is now enabled. Hope this didn't discourage anyone from reviewing.

Also, the kids are a little OOC, I know, but it's hard to stop that with how they have grown up a bit differently from the canon story as well as them being younger then in the canon.

**Smiley05** – Sorry for the confusion. On general, most of them are 10 years old.

Ages of all mentioned characters so far:

Iruka – 21

Asuma – 25

Sakura – 10

Ino – 10

Sasuke – 10

Shikamaru – 10

Chouji – 10

Hinata – 9

Hanabi – 5

Neji – 11

Naruto – 10

Konohamaru – 5

The Hokage – 66

Guy in black – around 25

The dead Sensei – around 42

Bandits – around 30s to 40s


End file.
